


Short Circuit

by CorpusColossus



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Other, Portal 2 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-24
Updated: 2014-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-12 20:19:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/815612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorpusColossus/pseuds/CorpusColossus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She thought that she was free, but when Chell returns from the brink of death she finds out that she is still trapped in the facility. Meanwhile, Wheatley has kept himself busy with a horrible new scheme. Chell must find a new way to stop him and escape, all without her precious portal gun.</p><p>Post game "what-if" scenario. Dark!Wheatley and Dark!Chell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reboot

The distant mechanical hum was the first sound that greeted her as she slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes struggled to open, moving back and forth behind her eyelids but feared the reality that would face her when she finally decided to  survey her environment. How long had she been asleep this time? _Don't think about that yet, just start from the_ _beginning._ One finger twitched followed by a second before her hand balled into a tight fist. She sucked in a deep but shaky breath, preparing herself for the worst.  
  
The tall stalks of wheat had been so inviting and the sky so vibrantly blue, that she thought her freedom was real. Tears had already started to fall before she even knew what was happening and the muscles in her forehead tightened painfully.  
  
 _No, no, no..._  
  
Her teeth bit painfully into her chapped lower lip to stifle the soft sobs suddenly forcing their way out of her. It was then that she heard a rhythmic beep from the machine next to her that she felt the courage to finally open her slate grey eyes and shift her head to observe it, absently wiping her wet cheek on the soft pillow beneath her. All she needed to see was the familiar logo on the top of the screen before she rolled over and grabbed the pillow to silence her cries. How much of it had been her mind trying to give her a sliver of hope? She should have known that the moon was too far away to open a portal on its luminescent surface. She should have known that the acerbic GlaDOS was too  
corrupt and twisted to free her. She should have known that Wheatley was just like any robot and could never feel regret, empathy, or shame. Her fingers twisted into the rough hospital sheets as she let out a painful moan, her loose dark hair sticking to her wet face as she let out everything that had been stowed away. The feeling of hopelessness started to form just under her ribcage, which felt as painful as the first time the she had been shot.

She remembered rolling out of the corridor where three turrets were still scanning for any sign of motion. The world had gone dark for several long minutes as she had secured the faded orange jacket just below her knee and held back the nauseous feeling that threatened to over power her. She had taken a deep breath and suddenly she dug into the hole and fished out the slippery shell before she could stop herself. It was like she wasn't even inside her own body anymore, just somehow watching from a distance. Absently she touched the old scar, remembering how she had to go through three courses before finding a med kit in one of the old offices with sutures and aspirin. In the Executive Suite down the hall she cried in ecstasy after finding a bottle of white rum, deciding to drink half of it before pouring it on the wound. That night was the last time she had sweet dreams.

  
The room was thankfully silent, and it did not take long for her to wipe away the tears and mucus that covered her face. She needed to compose herself and evaluate the situation. If there was one thing that she was good at, it was problem solving. She assured herself of this fact several times before she somehow found the strength to prop herself up on her elbows and look around the windowless room.

Next to the heart rate monitor was a tall stand that held an IV drip. She delicately traced a finger along the plastic tube that led to the small needle pressed into her forearm, and pulled off the medical tape that held it there. Her skin looked like it had grown around the metal but she quickly pulled it out, letting the wound reopen. She brought the sheet to her arm and used the bedding to sop up the blood and put pressure where the needle had been. When it had finally stopped, she fully sat up and allowed her feet to hang from the side of the bed.  
  
There was a simple wooden night stand with a stainless steel lamp perched on top which she clicked on and off for good measure, but there were no drawers or any personal items. She scoffed at the thought. As though she had ever had anything that she considered hers apart from the longfall boots and portal gun, but those were missing.  Other than the medical equipment, the room was completely bare. White floor, white walls, white ceiling tiles that were too high up to reach. Clearly, someone had thought enough to prevent another escape.  
  
Suddenly a crackling filled the room and her steady gaze shot to a small screen situated on the wall that the bed faced. How had she missed that? It must have just come out of the wall when she was distracted. Her stomach clenched when the familiar blue optic flashed onto the screen, seeming to take delight at the sight of her.  
  
"Oh look at that, you're finally awake!" Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she wrapped her hand around the cool metal IV stand. She had the sudden urge to run over to the screen and smash it into pieces, but as soon as she had slipped out of the bed, her legs gave out beneath her and she was forced to pull herself up and sit on the edge again.  
  
"Ooooh. Wouldn't do that. You've been asleep for quite some time, and I'm afraid that unlike robots, humans have these pesky things called muscles that lose strength when they aren't used. Shame isn't it? Yes, I know that you want to smash this screen like ya did before but I made sure that this one is shatterproof and you'll have to listen to every last word I have to say in perfect clarity." He sounded smug that he had bested her and Chell struggled to remember how he had managed to do it. She didn't have much time to find the memory through her medicated haze as he quickly began to ramble.  
  
"Actually, you should be thankful for how generous I've been. I could have easily thrown you in the incinerator after you destroyed my laboratory and tried to kill me... but after some research I found out that humans can't handle isolation very well. Makes them go mad. I'll be honest, I thought that I wouldn't have the patience to keep you alive, but I've been rather busy with you know, rebuilding everything by myself, and making sure that the system was stabilized that I forgot about you. Luckily, that monitor right there let me know when you finally woke up, so here I am! It's so good to see you again."  
  
She tested the ground once more, trying her best to steady herself with the help of the IV stand, refusing to look at his loathsome expression.  
  
"Oh, don't be like that," he cooed. "You know, I have an idea. If you get on your knees and say 'Wheatley, you are so very brilliant and I am nothing but a stupid human, please let me go.' I'll open up the door right there and you can walk right out. How does that sound? Just say the words and you're free. Go on. It's simple enough that even a person with brain damage could do it! Give it a try."  
  
Chell refused to acknowledge him and took a few weak steps as she clung to the wheeled metal rod, focusing instead on the way that the cold floor felt on her bare feet. She had always been an expert at pushing any and all buttons presented to her, and considering that she had little strength and no means of escaping the sealed room it was the only way to keep her dignity intact.  
  
"Last chance. All you have to do is beg for your freedom and I'll let you out... C'mon, it's not that difficult." He paused for almost a minute before before the little robot started to shake with fury.

"Don't. Ignore. Me!" His voice filled the entire room, but Chell refused to let her eyes move to the screen and drawing her lips to form a thin smile. After everything that she had gone through she knew it was going to be the only pleasure she'd receive until she could finally find a way out of the wretched laboratory.  
  
"Fine. You'll stay in this tiny room with NOTHING to do until I finish rebuilding! You thankless, selfish, spiteful human. You should be bowing down for saving your pathetic little life after you tried to destroy me and everything I did for you!"  
  
He looked surprised when she turned to venomously stare him down, pointing at the screen with her index finger before bringing it next to her neck and sliding it from left to right.  
  
"Wot...what does that mean? You're mute? Yeah, I know that bit. That's why the whole begging for forgiveness thing is funny."  
  
The caustic voice of GlaDOS came from somewhere in the back of her mind hissing " _Moron_ " with such disdain that Chell almost said it aloud. Instead, she rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose wishing that he would just leave her be and dismissively waved her hand at him. She wondered what had happened to her first nemesis, and pursed her lips, now knowing that the broken apology had only been the product of her own mind. While she was busy with her own thoughts, the blue sphere was growing more and more agitated and suddenly pierced the silence with a scream.  
  
"You don't listen do you?! Quiet.... all the time, quietly... not listening to a word I say... judging me silently; the worst kind! All I wanted to do was make everything better for me, all you had to do was solve a couple hundred simple tests for a few years and you couldn't even let me have that could you?! And another thing! You never caught me, I told you I could die falling off that rail you didn't catch me, didn't even try..." He sounded as though he was about to cry (as impossible as that was) and finally she turned to watch him as he fumed. It seemed as though the robot had been wanting to say his peace this entire time, hoping for the right moment to let her know how much she had hurt him.  
  
"Oh it's all clear to me now! Find some dupe to break you out of cryosleep, give him some sob story about escaping to the surface, squeeeeeze him for information on where to find a portal gun, then when he's no more use to you, he has a little accident doesn't he? Falls off his management rail **doesn't he**? You were in this together weren't you? You were playing me the entire time, both of you! First you made me think you're brain damaged, then you convinced me that you're sworn enemies with your best friend. Then! Then, when I reluctantly assume the responsibility of running the place, you conveniently run off together just when I need you the most!"  
  
He was delusional, that was for sure, but her expression softened slightly as she shook her head. She wanted to set him straight, to tell him that the chassis was the source of his false beliefs, but she knew that nothing that she could manage to say would make anything better. She had always been a woman of few words, but ever since she had been subjected to the experiments she developed a strict policy of not speaking to any robots. What was there to say really? Anything that she gave them would eventually be turned around on her, and  it destroyed any element of surprise. No, it was far better to let them underestimate her so that when an opportunity presented itself she could slip out unnoticed... well at least for a few precious minutes.  
  
"OH, DON'T EVEN BOTHER! You ruined everything! The facility is still in shambles after almost a year, those stupid replacement test subjects take twenty times before mastering a course...h-how did you do it? How did you make this big of a mess...? I can't even scratch the itch and I've been waiting so patiently for you to wake up and--and...." Her brow wrinkled in concern as his voice choked. He sounded so human that it was unnerving, and not knowing what else to do she let her eyes flicker down to inspect the floor.  
  
"Well don't look like that! That's not fair at all. YOU'RE the one at fault here, not me! I mean, yes, I did try to kill you. But you have to admit it was for a good reason! And look you're not dead are you?"  
  
The young woman sat back down on the bed with a deep sigh. Somehow the way that she was moving was making him feel nervous, and she could feel the blue optic staring at her with such intensity that it began to make _her_ feel uncomfortable. He was so terribly afflicted by his emotions that perhaps a new escape method was worth trying. She turned the idea over in her head several times, trying to keep her face as blank as the the white walls that caged her.  
  
He huffed anxiously, and she noticed a somewhat worried expression flicker across the screen as she laid down to curl up on the bed. There was a long pregnant pause before he began again "I...you should get some rest. Been in a coma for quite some time, I guess that a few more hours won't hurt. I'll have a meal sent to you shortly... protein pills will only do so much for an empty stomach, or so I've read... "  
  
He seemed almost hopeful when his test subject raised her brows at him in mild surprise, before his gaze shifted to a spot on the wall. "So you can be strong enough for testing as soon as possible, of course." She frowned deeply and sharply kicked over the IV stand, delighting in the startled look that he gave her in response.  
  
"Fine. Be that way," the core growled before the screen went black and Chell was left to ponder his words and how to escape the Wheatley Science facility.


	2. Micromanaging

Chell was getting nervous.

She couldn't keep track of the time, but it felt like it had been weeks since she last seen her captor. There was little to fill the time with other than regaining her strength. She did pushups until her arms hurt, lunges until her legs were on fire, and sit ups until the only thing left to do was lie down and stare at the ceiling. Wheatley had shown surprising focus by punishing her to live in utter silence. He had not popped up on the retractable screen to update her on the hopelessness of her situation or smugly gloat.

Her only company was a funny yellow robot who delivered her food twice a day. A hidden door in the wall would open and for just a split second she would see it slide the food over to her and wave. Then as though she had imagined it all, the panel would close up and she was left with her meal and a dull can opener.

Usually it was cold beans in what she recognized as an Aperture can, but it had been relabeled. Black paper had been pasted to the aluminum surface, and Wheatley Industries replaced the old design in bright blue script. The contents were left unmarked so every day was a new and usually unappetizing surprise. If she was lucky there would be a can of peaches, sardines, or pickles. She had been refused utensils of any sort so special attention was required to carefully tip the food back into her mouth, insuring that she wouldn't cut her lip open on the ragged edge.

After her meals she walked the perimeter around the room, letting her fingers run over the smooth panels to feel for any weaknesses. When that didn't work out, she used the IV stand to try and smash through them. There were now large indentations in the concrete, but it would take years to chip away and create an opening. The screen that Wheatley had appeared on was next to the hidden door, and the newest plan was to jam that open whenever he appeared next and later re-wire the circuits behind it. If she was lucky, perhaps the door would open without alerting him. Still, her plan couldn't work until the sadistic little robot decided to talk to her.

At least with testing she could move around the facility and feel like she was getting closer to her goal. She tried not to think too much, but that proved difficult when all she had were the white walls around her. Chell spent most of her time finding solace in the worlds she could create in her dreams. They often involved puzzles and the dark twisting pathways in the depths of Aperture. The ones she never wanted to leave were where she had found a sanctuary with the unknown artist. He had left tiny dens throughout the building, with large colorful murals that she felt herself strangely drawn to. It was only after she had found the portrait the artist painted in her likeness that Chell realized he was alive, and she tried to decipher out his cryptic messages. There was a part of her that hoped he had just found a new place to hide and was figuring out a way so they could escape together. The hope of just knowing that one other person was somewhere in the building was the only thing that kept her going. She refused to think about the probability of it after Wheatley’s coup and her coma. He said it had been a year since she was last awake.

She had no recollection of anything beyond the endless steel steps or the confining walls of her prison, and late at night a dark urge would pass over her. As the days passed in the tiny room the thought of ending the torture started to seem appealing.

Wheatley had once been the source of her strength before he had been plugged into the mainframe. He had been a bit of a chatterbox, but at least he was encouraging and genuinely wanted to help her out. At night when she grew tired and overwhelmed by the unsettling noises it was his clueless little voice that acted as white noise that helped her to drift off. After he'd detached from the management rail, she had even curled herself around the warm sphere and felt at peace just to hold something tight. Now there was nothing but the painful jab that the voice reminded her of, and the fact that he had kept her alive after defeating her. It just didn’t add up. Like a splinter that couldn't be removed, she kept plucking at it hoping that with perseverance it would fall out.

"Helloooooo!"

The sing song voice jolted her from her thoughts, and instantly she turned to watch as the black screen appeared from behind the concrete wall. She quickly picked up the can opener from the floor ran over to shove it into the small gap, forcefully wedging the make-shift lever against the screen.

" _E-EXCUSE ME_! Rude!"

A hiss of gas erupted from the outer edges, and a searing pain assaulted her hand. Chell instantly withdrew it, and held it up to see that little white crystals had formed on her fingertips. For a moment the screen pulled back into the wall and the concrete covering moved to seal shut, with the tool firmly stuck in the side. In amazement she watched as her only utensil shattered into several pieces as though it was made out of glass. With a mechanical groan the screen moved out from its protective barrier and revealed Wheatley shaking from side to side in disapproval.

"Better be careful, I'll make sure that it's your hand next time and belieeeeeeve me I've got plenty of liquid nitrogen to spare."  He moved closer to the camera to get a better look at the test subject.

"You look...well...ish. Look, I'm going to be honest here, my odor receptors are responding even though I'm not in the same room as you."

The robot chuckled to himself and ignored her piercing glare. "Now that you've had some time to think about your attitude, I figured that I would give you a proper orientation to the new  _and_  improved facility. But before we begin the state of the art video, I think it might be best if you had some time to...sanitize yourself. Just follow the yellow striped line and I’ll send someone to take care of the waste you've accumulated."

The robotic eye glanced over to the far corner where she had been using the empty cans as rudimentary bed pans. “All that came out of you? Ugh. Mammals.”

She stared viciously at him, and would have held her gaze if a loud chime hadn’t interrupted her. The hidden door slid open and Chell carefully walked to the threshold to survey the hallway. It was lined with the enormous spiked steel plates leaving approximately five feet between them. There were three lines painted onto the concrete, yellow, green and blue; each showing different paths. It was clear that if she decided to forge her own that the steel plates would close in on her. He was getting much better with the menacing overlord bit.

She followed his directions, but kept herself on edge in case he decided to change his mind. The hallway twisted left and right, but it wasn’t long before she saw the open door that the pathway led to. Inside the funny yellow robot waited for her and cheerfully chirped. She turned to look at the narrow room which held several curtains that concealed tall glass cylinders.

The yellow one tapped her shoulder, and pointed to the only open cylinder. Chell firmly placed her hands on the egg-like torso, and spun him to face the wall before she unsnapped her worn orange jumpsuit and the slid out of the once white undergarments. With a small smirk she unceremoniously tossed her clothes at it before closing the shower curtain for privacy. She stepped into the pod and the door shut automatically behind her.

It whirred on and a little diagram appeared on the screen in front of her. She tried to understand what it was picturing, and was caught off guard by a blistering jet of water. She screamed, desperately clawing to get out of the tube only to affirm that she was locked in. A familiar laugh echoed throughout the sound system, causing Chell to clap her hand over her mouth and tolerate the pain. Of course, that bastard controlled everything.

After a few minutes she grew numb to the heat, standing perfectly still as the jets rotated around her. She looked down to see the years of dirt muddy the water and swirl down the drain between her feet. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight and as she started to relax the young woman closed her eyes deciding to enjoy the feeling. It was only then that the water stopped.

The second diagram of a rectangle surrounded by circles appeared and a small spigot moved just over her head and released a liquid. She moved her hands to massage it in, marveling at how much hair she had. It had grown to the small of her back during her coma, and was matted with little nests. The more she worked the shampoo in, the worse the tangles became, but she could literally feel the layers of dead skin flaking off and that was worth it. The rotating jets started to spin once more and soon her entire body was covered in warm foam.

The third picture appeared and water rinsed her off once again, making her feel alive. The gentle pulsing of the jets washed not only the grime away but the disgusting emotions that she had since she had woken up. Her sense of purpose was renewed, and she could face whatever that traitor had to throw at her.

When the water shut off a mechanical arm knocked on the door of the pod, activating the machine to unlock. It was holding a towel for her, and when she noticed that the robot was not looking at her Chell felt a pang of guilt that she had treated it poorly. She recognized how ridiculous it was, but decided to treat it with cautious kindness. She wrung out her hair, dried herself off, and hung the towel back on its arm.

She expected the robot to hand her back the orange jumpsuit, but instead held out a dark pile of clothes. She took it in mild surprise and stepped out of the pod to properly put it on.  In the carefully folded bundle she found a sports bra, a pair of underwear, a tank top, socks, boots and the new jumpsuit. Everything was all black with blue panels on the side and a prominent silver Wheatley logo. It seemed that he wanted to tell her that she was not just the property of the facility, but personally him.

She dressed herself quickly, and pushed away the curtain to see that a chair had been brought before her. The yellow one had his hands on the back, and kindly patted the seat. Chell sat down without a fuss, and felt the mechanical fingers delicately smooth her hair over the back of the chair.  He began to comb it with surprising tenderness, letting her hair fall over its arm like a bolt of fabric. Yellow whistled a little tune as he worked; only stopping when she let out a hiss of pain so that he could carefully untie the offending knot.

It was funny to think that this small gesture was the only time she could remember being touched. It sent electric impulses down her spine when the comb gently raked against her scalp, and she found herself imagining what it would be like with a human behind her. Someone she cared about, maybe even someone who cared about her. She imagined sunlight hitting her cheek, and a warm hand cupping her jaw.

When she opened her eyes she was reminded of the cold reality. She could only manage to stare at her own pale hands and blue veins as he took a pair of scissors and snipped off inches of her hair. She did not move until he proudly handed her a mirror to admire his handiwork. It now rested just above her shoulders and was soft to the touch. She looked back at the robot through the reflection and gave a sad smile.

Yellow let loose a happy yelp and scurried in front of her to hold out his hand. She had no idea what he was trying to tell her so she mirrored him. Enthusiastically the robot gave her a high five and helped her out of the chair, placing a black elastic in her hand. Her smile widened and waved goodbye to him as she followed the yellow line back to her cell. Maybe that one wasn’t so bad.

After she walked back in her room, the door slammed behind her menacingly.

“Making friends? I wonder, will you try to kill him to escape too?”

She flew around to look at the screen where Wheatley looked over critically.

“Now that you’re ready, it’s time to debrief you on my new testing protocol. I’m sure you’ll just _love_ it.”


	3. Automaton

The image of the robot was replaced with an interlude of ear piercing static. Chell was so unused to anything but the distant hum of the facility that she tucked her head between her legs and clamped her ears in a vice grip. There had been few noises that made her react so viscerally, one of which happened to be the distinctive sound of turret just after she had triggered its motion detector. The horrible scratch was replaced with a soothing melody and a chorus of artificial voices singing Wheatley Laboratories. Tentatively, Chell raised her head to watch the video that her captor had been impatient to show off.

The black screen morphed into an animation sequence featuring a group of four people sitting around a table with an elaborate meal in front of them. There was a woman wearing a strange garment that was wrapped tightly around her bust but fell about her hips like a lampshade and served the people in front of her with a large pitcher, a man reclined in his seat thumbing through a book in a three piece suit, and two children sitting between them. Every one had wide, almost frightening smiles plastered to their faces except for the woman who slumped over in exhaustion after pouring their drinks.

_Life used to be so dreary. The same chores repeated day in and day out making dear old Mom a slave to her duties. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there was something there to just to take care of it all? Well lucky you, Mom! Thanks to Wheatley Laboratories those days are gone forever!_ _At our state of the art facility, we rigorously test every element of our product to make sure that when it arrives at your doorstep you sing the praises for our new invention._

The family faded away and was replaced by a model of a factory emblazoned with the co-opted Aperture logo on the center. It zoomed inside the building showing industrious men in white coats watching an assembly line carry parts and automated robotic arms welding the pieces together. It was only when the product was in its final form that she recognized it and gasped with horror.

_The magical Droidini will be the perfect personal assistant for the modern man or woman. It cooks! It cleans! It manages your schedule, balances your checks, drops the kids off at school, cleans your car, translates during business meetings **and** protects your family from imminent danger. Each Droidini comes equipped with voice recognition for up to ten members of your household, and can never fatally injure a human. The Droidini comes in both male and female models, perfectly suited to fit right in. Soon you'll forget what life was like before our little miracle. _

Thankfully there were no turrets that popped out of its shoulders to shower the dark burglar with bullets, but the image showed the robot twisting his arm and placing him in a sleeper hold before laying the crook on the floor. Red and blue flashing whites appeared in the window next to the silent robot and two uniformed men placed restraints around the thief's wrists. Chell couldn't decipher all of the symbolism on the screen, but it seemed unimportant to her. The real message she understood perfectly.

_Call our collect number to learn more about our payment programs, and try out the Droidini risk free for thirty days. If you don't fall in love with our product, return it to our mailing address with postage and we'll send you a new model free of charge! Act now before we run out!_

Her hands trembled uncontrollably as the screen flashed a number and PO Box repeating the information over and over. Mismatched emotional information flooded through her, and Chell was unsure whether she should laugh or cry. He had finally become more horrible than she thought possible. He wanted a robot in every household on the surface, and she had a sickening idea what his motivation was. She didn't have to think about the consequences for too long as he returned to gloat.

If the little demon had a mouth he would be grinning madly."So...what do you think?"

She stared at the wall just below the screen, desperately wanting to throw something at him again but knowing it was useless destroying the video system. It couldn't reverse what he was in the middle of. 

"Yeah, you're right. Droidini is a bizarre name, but maybe the reference goes over your head. You see there was magician named Houdini and he could escape from anything. So he was a bit like you, just you know, successful."

She turned her head away, feeling a familiar pressure behind her eyes. This twisted version of the original personality core thrived off of her hate, and giving him an iota of attention no matter how justified her disgust was, powered him just as well as the system generators.

" Either way, I thought that the whole magical element would really sell to stupid humans with their superstitions and what not. I'll take new suggestions if you have them. Maybe I should make a comment box for you to write them down. You can also write down general ideas for improvement. I'll read them, consider what changes I can make, then I'll laugh and throw them in the incinerator."

He paused for a moment waiting for the stimulus to take its effect but became frustrated when she remained motionless.

"Ugh. You've become sooooo boring.  Well I have a surprise for you. After we get our first million orders, you won't be the only person here. You'll have lots of people to interact with and eventually disappoint. "

Her eyes flickered up at him for a moment as she let the idea sink in. More people meant more power. There was too much attention focused on her to make any significant gains toward her freedom, but surrounded by others she could lead a coup. There could be planned distractions, complex coordination of jobs, and joined ingenuity. If Wheatley really was going to kidnap millions of people, others who hadn't bought the robots would start missing them. The humans from the outside could eventually mean her salvation and the assured destruction of the monster that was studying her.

"Stop looking at me like that... you almost seem...well, not human."

She was glad that she had trained herself to stop emoting at will when she was deep in thought in front of the artificials . From what Chell could gather, both GlaDOS and Wheatley had ways of tracking micro-expressions, which led to their almost intuitive power to sense when she was planning a way to over throw them.  She was glad that her fine motor skills were returning after the second long sleep. The young woman flashed her steely eyes back to the concrete floor, robbing him of any pleasure he could find. To her inner delight the robot released an empty sigh of defeat.

"We'll begin testing tomorrow."

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It lives! Sorry about the enormous gap in updates. Life went to shit, felt uninspired, and eventually forgot about my project. So here's to finally getting to that plot and hopefully finishing things that I start.


	4. Execute Program

Chell struggled to settle into the warm embrace of sleep. Instead of the usual darkness behind her eyelids she watched the video replay on a constant loop setting her nerves on fire and her heart into overdrive. This was his endgame. He had grown tired of just one subject the malevolent fool had figured out that science relied on testing not just one extraordinary participant, but thousands. The thought of company was at once comforting and terrifying. It had been horrific enough that she had been shot at, bloodied and psychologically damaged due to malfunctioning programming, but now other people would be at the mercy of her robot overlord. If there was a sliver left of the Wheatley she once new, she had to pry it from the grips of his madness before others could be stolen from their homes. She was stuck pondering how long it would take before he had the rest of humanity in his steely grip. 

After what had seemed like hours her breathing leveled out, her heart became a distant lub-dub and she felt herself sink down into unconsciousness. Just then, she heard the door unlock, and slowly she opened her eyes to peer through the blackness. A mechanical whirl hissed just over to her left side, and before she had the time to sit up, a vice grip wrapped around her throat. 

She kicked her foot out from beneath the thin sheets, and wildly tried to strike the imposing form beside her bed. It loomed above her, utterly unresponsive to her forceful kicks. Chell gasped desperately, her fingers trying to loosen the hold on her trachea so that she could breathe again, but the cold metal pressed harder. The room spun dangerously and acting on pure adrenaline, she grabbed onto the two limbs strangling her, pushed her feet against the chest plate lifting the heavy object above her. She tumbled backwards with it, a sickening crash sounding as something broke on her assailant. 

Her eyes had adjusted in the darkness, and she could just scarcely make out the form she straddled. She grit her teeth and let a ferocious growl out, clutching at android's head and twisting it to the side violently. A cascade of sparks lit up it's pale blank face, exposing the wires that had frayed beneath her fingers. She dug into them, snapping each one she could find as the form bucked beneath her. 

It's fist shot out of nowhere, smacking the left side of her jaw so forcefully that her body crumpled against the apex of the floor and wall. A metallic taste filled her mouth, but she wasted no time scrambling to her feet. The android struggled to stand, it's head lolling back and forth against it's chest as it lumbered toward her. She returned a punch just between it's two glowing eyes before shoving her hands against its chest.  It toppled over the end of the bed frame and back onto the ground face first. Thinking quickly, she lifted the bottom of the bed, positioning the metal leg above the base of it's skull. It had just begun to prop itself up on it's arms as she let it fall. Her enemy screeched as the impact severed the final connection between the head and the body. There was a moment of silence, only disturbed by her heavy breathing as she stood over the motionless body. 

"Ooooooh...yes! You. Are. Spectacular." 

The lights suddenly flashed on blinding her momentarily. Her eyes turned to the screen in front of her to see the blue optic beam at her. He had a deeply satisfied look on her face that made the pit of her stomach churn.

"I had forgotten how wonderful it felt when you completed a test. You really were marvelous! I honestly thought that you were going to pass out for a second but then you flipped Model T1 over you and...wow. Well done. Honestly here's a round of applause for you!"

A sound clip of a cheering crowd echoed through her holding cell, but she scowled menacingly at him and took several steps closer to his monitor. He drew away from her, even though he wasn't even in the same room and the satisfied look on his face faded. She spat at him, the mixture of blood and saliva streaking down the video screen. 

"Oh... you didn't really like that surprise test as much as I thought you would." 

She snorted derisively at him, wiping the blood from her mouth and smearing it against the white wall.

"You're really hurt aren't you? I had forgotten. I just- well...I just remember you being so _indestructible_. I didn't mean to...I'm sorry."

She looked up to him with a wary expression, trying to sort out why on earth he had a motivation to apologize. 

"I'll fix that. Just give me some time to figure it out and I'll be right back."

Just as soon as it had all started, Wheatley vanished again, leaving Chell to stare numbly at the black screen. She let out a rattled sigh and placed her hand on the metal bedpost, staring down at the decapitated figure beneath her. It still looked entirely robotic, but she could only guess that this monstrosity was merely a skeleton for what he was going to release onto the unsuspecting public. She could not tear her eyes away from those dim eyes which caused a dreadful shudder to run down her spine.

She may have won the fight, but there was no doubt that if he activated them after a couple of months with a family that it could have knocked them out and kidnapped them in the middle of the night. The sound of her pulse echoed through her entire body, the back of her head feeling the full aching force of it. Chell shifted her gaze to her hands which were shaking like leaves against the cold wind. With nothing else to focus her rage on she kicked the head against the wall, watching as it bounced off and rolled away. 

\---

It seemed like it had taken an eternity before the door opened one more time, his voice popping onto the loudspeaker. 

"Okay, I've got things all set up in the main chamber. Just follow the green pathway, and we'll set you right as rain!" 

She had fallen asleep on her bed, and she awoke to his voice in a cold sweat. Chell moved her jaw slightly feeling the searing pain move all the way up to her temple, yet she still debated getting up. 

"C'mon! I haven't got all day. If you're good, I promise to use a sedative..."

Feeling like she really had no choice in the matter, she stood with a low grunt and shuffled out of her room and down the twisted green pathway. It led her to a lift, and with little energy left in her she collapsed on the ground, clutching at her side and holding back a low moan as the elevator began to drop. Her vision crossed and uncrossed, making everything feel like it was moving too fast even though she'd been in it a million times before. She swallowed another mouthful of blood and felt her stomach drop as the tube slowed to a stop. The ever present video camera swiveled to face her and narrow into focus.

"Just a little bit further."

She pushed herself back onto her feet but had to press her hand against the wall as a wave of nausea hit her. She reached the familiar circular doors which opened up to reveal Wheatley waiting for her. She smiled weakly at the familiar sight of the enormous chassis, and limped to the center of the room. 

He looked surprisingly sympathetic and activated the ground beneath him to swell and raise a black table just under his watchful eye. Everything about the situation set her nervous system into effect, but leaving her health in his metaphorical hands was the only option she had. He had saved her once, a small voice inside her voice cautiously said. It was the only thing that assured her that sitting on the table was a good choice. 

"So...I'm going to take a picture of your insides with some radiation. I assure you, no more than you're exposed to on a daily basis. If you could please, lay down..."

She did as he asked, looking up anxiously at the ominous giant hovering above her. 

A giant light flashed, leaving multicolored impressions to float in and out of her field of vision. Her stomach clenched again, forcing her to roll over on her side and heave uncontrollably. She wished that there had been something in her stomach to empty, but the painful contractions kept coming. She clutched at the edge of the table, and spat out a thick stream of blood. The artificial personality gagged.

"Oh God, please stop, you're making ME sick." 

Chell could only lay on her side, trying to focus on the cold table against her cheek instead of her pounding head. It took a few minutes but soon three large screens on the walls of the chambers displayed the evidence of her injuries. 

"Okay so...It looks like you've got a fractured jaw, a bruised rib...and another concussion. The last one you had sent you into a coma and this one could...well I'm going to have to act. I wish I could say that I did something extraordinary last time, but I just put you into the relaxation chamber for a couple of months and then hooked you up to that drip until you came to. I'm going to have to put you under and find a way to decrease the swelling in your brain so this might be a bit more invasive than the last time."

The core was just a foot above her head, and weakly she reached out her arm to grab the handle and draw him closer.

"Wheatley, don't let me die."

Her rusty whisper made his pupil widen in shock as he examined his subject like he never had before. His programming screamed that he needed to ask her a million questions, but with her half-lidded eyes returning his gaze he found himself for the first time unable to unable to launch into a tangent. Instead, he lowered a breathing apparatus over her mouth and strangled out a reply that sounded remarkably like a sob. 

"You only get to die... when I say you can."

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Did you enjoy? Please leave a comment! I'd like to see if this story is worth exploring, and I'd love any constructive criticism.
> 
> If you'd like to beta please let me know! :)


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